Ten York, 10 York St: Tridel’s Wedge Tower at the Foot of York Street

Ten York is the tower with the sharp glass point at the foot of York Street, and its shape is the first thing to understand before you buy here. A triangular floor plate means every floor has a mix of normal suites and odd-angled ones, and the views change dramatically from one corner to the next. It is a Tridel building, which carries weight with buyers, and it is a short walk from Union Station. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A wedge on a triangular lot

The site was a parking lot and car-impound yard at York and Harbour Streets, and its triangular shape drove the design. Wallman Architects gave the building a triangular floor plate: a six-storey podium with the tower above, ending in a sharp glass point at the west end and topped by an angled glass crown lit with LEDs at night.

The design changed during approvals. In 2012 the planned height was cut by ten storeys, and you will still see different storey counts online: 65, 66 or the architect’s marketing figure of 70. At about 224 metres it is one of the taller towers in South Core, taller than the west tower of ICE Condominiums and shorter than its east tower.

At street level, a four-storey lobby on York Street faces the lobby of One York across the road, and the base backs onto a new public park to the southeast. The podium also carries public art by Josephine Meckseper, lit from inside.

Living in a triangle: layouts and views

Condos.ca puts suites at about 582 to 3,858 sq ft. Most of what trades is one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens in the 500 to 700 sq ft range, and the top of the range is penthouse space that very few downtown towers offer.

The wedge shape is the thing to study. Suites along the long sides lay out like suites anywhere, but suites near the points have angled walls and wedge-shaped rooms. Some buyers love the panoramic glass at the tip; others find the furniture will not fit. Walk the actual suite, not just the floor plan.

The penthouse end of the building is a different market altogether. Suites in the 2,000 to 3,800 sq ft range rarely come up in a downtown tower this new, and when they do they are priced on view, terrace and finish rather than on the building average. If you are looking at that tier, ask for the sales history of comparable large suites in South Core, not just in this building.

Exposure matters as much as size. Depending on the side and the height, a suite can look toward the lake, into the Financial District and South Core towers, or west along the expressway and rail lands. Balconies at the west end have side-mounted, full-height glass screens. The lake views are the premium ones, and they are worth checking against what is planned to the south.

The daily reality at York and Harbour

The biggest draw is the walk to work. Union Station and the Financial District are a short walk away, as are the arena and the waterfront. The data panel on this page shows the transit and walkability details.

The trade-off is traffic. York and Harbour is a busy downtown road corner close to the Gardiner and Lake Shore, and at rush hour the streets around the building fill with cars heading in and out of the core. Higher suites sit well above it; lower suites do not. Visit at five o’clock on a weekday before you decide.

South Core has filled in quickly over the past decade, with office towers and condo towers going up on almost every block. If the view is the reason you are buying, check the City of Toronto development applications map for anything proposed in its line of sight.

Tridel, Del and the fee

Tridel built Ten York, and condos.ca lists Del Property Management, part of the Tridel group, as manager. Developer-affiliated management can mean consistent standards and a manager that knows the building’s systems. It is still worth reading recent board minutes to see how the board and manager handle repairs.

Across the active listings when I checked, fees worked out to about $0.74 per square foot a month. That is reasonable for a building with an outdoor pool and a full amenity floor. Condos.ca does not list the fee inclusions here, so confirm whether heat, cooling and water are in the fee or metered to the suite.

What Ten York costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $984 per square foot, one of the higher figures in this part of downtown. That reflects Tridel’s name, the 2019 build, the location by Union Station and a small number of very large penthouse suites pulling the average up.

Supply is healthy. When I wrote this, sixteen suites were for sale and thirteen for lease. The one-bedroom and one-plus-den suites I looked at were asking between about $545,000 and $576,000, a tight range that tells you how many similar suites are competing at once. Those are asking prices, not sold prices; the sold data panel on this page shows what has actually traded.

With that much choice, a buyer can negotiate on the ordinary layouts, and floor, view and parking are what separate a good buy from an average one. For a value check on a specific suite, use my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Ten York

The amenity floor, branded the Shore Club, was planned with a weight room, a cardio room with city views, spin and yoga studios, a spa, a juice bar and a games and media room, and condos.ca also lists an outdoor pool, party room and guest suites. For most residents this replaces a gym membership outright.

Jatin’s honest take on Ten York

Ten York — frequently asked questions

Looking at King West, Liberty Village and CityPlace more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.